Failed Memories and Vanished Witness Follow Killing in a Market

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It has been three weeks since Ernest Abdul Mateen, a father of nine from the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, was shot and killed in midafternoon in a crowded open-air vegetable market in Canarsie.

Now the prime suspect has vanished. A witness who gave the police a detailed account of the shooting on the day it happened lost his memory before a grand jury. And three other men who were in the vegetable stand when Mr. Mateen was killed have told the police they cannot identify the gunman.

In Mr. Mateen's neighborhood and at his mosque, there is growing anger at the lack of progress of the investigation.

Black Muslim leaders, angry at the slow pace of the investigation, say they believe the owners and employees of the market have been lying to investigators to protect a friend.

''The only reason the murderer has not been caught is these people are withholding information,'' said Adib Rashid, the assistant imam at the Masjid Abdul-Muhsi Khalifah on Madison Street, where Mr. Mateen worshiped.

At least two mosques have started a letter-writing campaign to Mayor David N. Dinkins and District Attorney Charles J. Hynes of Brooklyn. Mosque officials and the victim's widow have aired their complaints on WLIB, a radio station that serves the black community. They have also met with top police officials, and plan to march through the Brooklyn Terminal Market this morning in protest.

Mr. Mateen's associates in the Islamic community suggest that racism may have played a role in the killing. The suspect is white. But Police Inspector Edward Cappello said: ''It was not a bias crime because at no time did race come into it. We have no evidence of it.''

Mr. Mateen, who was 43 years old and lived in a high-rise apartment building at 303 Vernon Avenue, was shot once in the chest at close range with a .22-caliber revolver as he argued with an employee at Tony's Good Deal, a fruit and vegetable store in the Brooklyn Terminal Market on May 25, detectives said.

Mr. Mateen, who worked as a self-employed auto mechanic and boxing coach, had gone to the market to buy oranges and other fruit after attending Friday afternoon prayers at the mosque with his wife. The shooting happened about 5:10 P.M., the police said.

Detectives say no one has told them what the argument was about. An employee of the store, Anthony Falsone, 60, was shouting at Mr. Mateen just before the shooting, the police said. Mr. Falsone was shot once in the right elbow, apparently by accident. He suffered a graze wound and was driven to Brookdale Hospital by the owner of the store.

Inspector Cappello said the police have a suspect in the case but would not identify him. The suspect is described only as a young white man who frequents the market, but does not work there. He disappeared after the shooting and has not been seen. At least four other people were at the store but detectives said all told them they did not see the shooting and could not identify the gunman.

The most important witness, a 24-year-old former employee whose name has not been made public, initially said he saw the shooting, and he told the detectives who the gunman was, law-enforcement officials said. But he recanted his statements when he appeared before a grand jury earlier this week, the officials said.

''We know his name,'' one high-ranking investigator said, referring to the suspected gunman. ''We're going to have to try to build up a case. Now we're concerned that this one good witness we have might not work out.''

Patrick Clark, a spokesman for the District Attorney, said yesterday that the grand jury hearing testimony on the case has not handed up indictments. John O'Mara, acting chief of the District Attorney's homicide bureau, declined to comment on the grand jury proceedings.

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The two other people at the stand during the shooting were the owner, Anthony Fraggetta, 54, and his son, Danny Haskel, 21, the police said. Both told investigators they were inside the building behind the stand and did not see the gunman.

Even Mr. Falsone has been uncooperative, the police said, claiming he did not see who shot him and refusing to discuss what started the argument.

Killed as Wife Slept

The police said they were searching for an unidentified woman who is believed to have seen the shooting and then disappeared among the rows of vegetables, flowers and gardening equipment.

Mr. Mateen's wife of 25 years, Waheedah Abdul, said she and her husband frequently shopped at the open-air market because they preferred to buy vegetables in large quantities. On May 25, her husband parked their car on Foster Avenue and went into the market alone.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Mateen said, her husband returned with a watermelon and put it on the floor of the front seat. ''He said he was going back to get the oranges,'' Mrs. Mateen said. ''I fell asleep. The next thing I know there were police all over the car saying open up. I have never seen my husband alive again.''

Mr. Fraggetta, the owner of the store, said yesterday that he was carrying goods back and forth through a doorway several yards from where the shooting occurred but did not see Mr. Mateen or hear an argument. He said he suffers from glaucoma and has blurred vision.

'It's Unbelievable'

While he was inside the building, Mr. Fraggetta said, he heard what sounded like firecrackers, and then heard Mr. Falsone screaming for help.

Mr. Fraggetta said the market was crowded. ''All these people and nobody saw anything,'' he said. ''It's unbelievable.''

Mr. Fraggetta said he did not see Mr. Mateen, who the police said staggered across a road to another building in the market and collapsed in front of D. W. Produce. Mr. Fraggetta said he was not even aware another man had been shot when drove Mr. Falsone to Brookdale Hospital. ''I could hardly see,'' he said. ''I was praying a cop would stop me so that I'd have an escort.''

The owner of D.W. Produce, David Ciraolo, said he saw Mr. Mateen stagger up to his stand. He did not see the gunman. ''He said, 'Help me,' '' Mr. Ciraolo said. ''I told him to sit down. I called 911. And he died right here.''

Friends said Mr. Mateen was a powerfully built, outspoken man who was committed to raising his children to be self reliant. Mr. Mateen worked out at least twice a week at the New Bedford-Stuyvesant Boxing Association, where he also coached young boxers. He was particularly proud that he had coached his eldest son, 24-year-old Ernest Mateen Jr., to the Golden Gloves championship for light heavyweights in 1988 and 1989, his wife said.

Henry Brent, the president of the boxing association, said Mr. Mateen lived for his nine children. ''Everyone is very baffled by his death,'' Mr. Brent said. ''They want to know why?''

A version of this article appears in print on June 9, 1990, on Page 1001025 of the National edition with the headline: Failed Memories and Vanished Witness Follow Killing in a Market. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe